A giant panda with a broken back underwent an operation Thursday in Xi’an, capital city of northwest Shaanxi Province.

　　During the two-and-a-half hour operation, vets at the Animal Experimental Centre at the Xijing Hospital, mended a broken vertebra, stabilized the spinal cord and removed sections from two further vertebra to reduce pressure on the spinal nerves.

　　Li Mingquan, chief operator and director of the Department of Orthopedics of the Xijing Hospital, said: "It is difficult to say if the panda will be able to stand properly after the operation, but we have certainly stabilized the injury and prolonged the animal’s life." Although the operation was deemed a success, vets say they will have to wait three months before they know how effective the procedure has been.

　　The injured panda was found on April 4 in Shaanxi Changqing State-class Nature Reserve in the Qinling Mountains, and was transferred to Xi’an on April 6, said Zhao Bin, director of Shaanxi Rare Wildlife Rescuing and Raising Research Centre, who gave the official go ahead for the operation to take place.